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Topic: The hidden Gospel in Genesis (Read 1124 times)

Something I found that may interest you.Or not...The great discovery is that the Bible is a message system: it's not simply 66 books penned by 40 authors over thousands of years, the Bible is an integrated whole which bears evidence of supernatural engineering in every detail. The Jewish rabbis have a quaint way of expressing this very idea: they say that they will not understand the Scriptures until the Messiah comes. But when He comes, He will not only interpret each of the passages for us, He will interpret the very words; He will even interpret the very letters themselves; in fact, He will even interpret the spaces between the letters!

When I first heard this, I simply dismissed this as a colorful exaggeration. Until I reread Matthew 5:17 and 18:

"Think not that I have come to destroy the Torah and the prophets; I have not come to destroy but to fulfill.

For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."

(A jot and tittle are the Hebrew equivalent of our dotting an i and the crossing of a t.)

An ExampleA remarkable example of this can be glimpsed in Genesis Chapter 5, where we have the genealogy of Adam through Noah. This is one of those chapters which we often tend to skim over quickly as we pass through Genesis it's simply a genealogy from Adam to Noah. But God always rewards the diligent student. Let's examine this chapter more closely.

In our Bible, we read the Hebrew names. What do these names mean in English?

A Study of Original RootsThe meaning of proper names can be a difficult pursuit since a direct translation is often not readily available. Even a conventional Hebrew lexicon can prove disappointing. A study of the original roots, however, can yield some fascinating insights. (A caveat: many study aids, such as a conventional lexicon, can prove rather superficial when dealing with proper nouns. Furthermore, views concerning the meanings of original roots are not free of controversy and variant readings.)

Let s take an example.

The Flood JudgmentMethuselah comes from muth, a root that means "death";(1) and from shalach, which means to bring, or to send forth. The name Methuselah means, "his death shall bring".(2) Methuselah's father was given a prophecy of the coming Great Flood, and was apparently told that as long as his son was alive, the judgment of the flood would be withheld; but as soon as he died, the flood would be brought or sent forth.

(Can you imagine raising a kid like that? Every time the boy caught a cold, the entire neighborhood must have panicked!)

And, indeed, the year that Methuselah died, the flood came.(3)

It is interesting that Methuselah's life, in effect, was a symbol of God's mercy in forestalling the coming judgment of the flood.

Therefore, it is fitting that his lifetime is the oldest in the Bible, speaking of the extensiveness of God's mercy.

The Other NamesIf there is such significance in Methuselah's name, let's examine the other names to see what may lie behind them.Adam's name means man. As the first man, that seems straight forward enough.

SethAdam's son was named Seth, which means appointed. Eve said, "For God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew."(4)

EnoshSeth's son was called Enosh, which means mortal, frail, or miserable. It is from the root anash, to be incurable, used of a wound, grief, woe, sickness, or wickedness. It was in the days of Enosh that men began to defile the name of the Living God.(5)

KenanEnosh's son was named Kenan, which can mean sorrow, dirge, or elegy. (The precise denotation is somewhat elusive; some study aids unfortunately presume that Kenan is synonymous with Cainan.)Balaam, looking down from the heights of Moab, uses a pun upon the name of the Kenites when he prophesies their destruction.(6)

We have no real idea as to why these names were chosen for their children. Often they may have referred to circumstances at birth, and so on.

MahalalelKenan's son was Mahalalel, from Mahalal which means blessed or praise; and El, the name for God. Thus, Mahalalel means the Blessed God. Often Hebrew names include El, the name of God, as Dan-i-el, "God is my Judge", etc.

JaredMahalalel's son was named Jared, from the verb yaradh, meaning shall come down.(7)

EnochJared's son was named Enoch, which means teaching, or commencement. He was the first of four generations of preachers. In fact, the earliest recorded prophecy was by Enoch, which amazingly enough deals with the Second Coming of Christ (although it is quoted in the Book of Jude in the New Testament):Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, "Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,

To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against."

Jude 14, 15

MethuselahEnoch was the father of Methuselah, who we have already mentioned. Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah.(8) Apparently, Enoch received the prophecy of the Great Flood, and was told that as long as his son was alive, the judgment of the flood would be withheld. The year that Methuselah died, the flood came.Enoch, of course, never died: he was translated (9) (or, if you'll excuse the expression, raptured ). That s how Methuselah can be the oldest man in the Bible, yet he died before his father!

LamechMethuselah's son was named Lamech, a root still evident today in our own English word, lament or lamentation. Lamech suggests despairing. (This name is also linked to the Lamech in Cain's line who inadvertently killed his son Tubal-Cain in a hunting incident.(10))

NoahLamech, of course, is the father of Noah, which is derived from nacham, to bring relief or comfort, as Lamech himself explains in Genesis 5:29.

The Composite ListNow let's put it all together:

Hebrew English

Adam Man

Seth Appointed

Enosh Mortal

Kenan Sorrow;

Mahalalel The Blessed God

Jared Shall come down

Enoch Teaching

Methuselah His death shall bring

Lamech The Despairing

Noah Rest, or comfort.That's rather remarkable:

Man (is) appointed mortal sorrow; (but) the Blessed God shall come down teaching (that) His death shall bring (the) despairing rest. Here's the Gospel hidden within a genealogy in Genesis!

(You will never convince me that a group of Jewish rabbis conspired to hide the Christian Gospel right here in a genealogy within their venerated Torah!)

Evidence of DesignThe implications of this discovery are more wide spread than is evident at first glance.It demonstrates that in the earliest chapters of the Book of Genesis, God had already laid out His plan of redemption for the predicament of mankind. It is a love story, written in blood on a wooden cross which was erected in Judea almost 2,000 years ago.

The Bible is an integrated message system, the product of supernatural engineering. Every number, every place name, every detail every jot and tittle is there for our learning, our discovery, and our amazement. Truly, our God is an awesome God.

It is astonishing to discover how many Biblical controversies seem to evaporate if one simply recognized the unity the integrity of these 66 books, penned by 40 authors over thousands of years.

It is remarkable how many subtle discoveries lie behind the little details of the text. Some of these become immediately obvious with a little study; some are more technical and require special helps.

Many of these discoveries are described in our Briefing Package, Beyond Coincidence. Several are also highlighted in our recent book, The Creator Beyond Time and Space.

Look behind every detail: there's a discovery to be made! God always rewards the diligent student. What other messages lay hidden behind the names in the Bible? Check it out.

Logged

1 Timothy 2:3-4 ...God our Savior; Who will have all men to be saved...John 12:47 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.Romans 4:5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in the one who declares the ungodly righteous ...

True Believer

pneuma

Hi WW, I agree with the hidden gospel approach and use it myself, here one the Lord showed me years ago.

Ever wonder how the river of life works within us?

Genesis 2:10-1410 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. 11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; 12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. 13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. 14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

Revelation 22:1-2And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

Pison------------increase

Gihon-----------bursting forth

Hiddekel-------rapid

Euphrates------fruitfulness

So we have the river of life giving increase bursting forth rapidly unto fruitfulness.

We can learn so much more by looking at the meaning of names then just reading the names themselves, God surely knew what He was doing.

Hi WW, I agree with the hidden gospel approach and use it myself, here one the Lord showed me years ago.

Ever wonder how the river of life works within us?

Genesis 2:10-1410 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. 11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; 12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. 13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. 14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

Revelation 22:1-2And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

Pison------------increase

Gihon-----------bursting forth

Hiddekel-------rapid

Euphrates------fruitfulness

So we have the river of life giving increase bursting forth rapidly unto fruitfulness.

We can learn so much more by looking at the meaning of names then just reading the names themselves, God surely knew what He was doing.

God bless

Logged

Isa 29:18 And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.

Shall bring (=no asking but doing) the despairing (the ones in hell are despared for sure) Rest/Comfort (there can be no rest/comfort in hell)

So:Everyone will have comfort.

Logged

1 Timothy 2:3-4 ...God our Savior; Who will have all men to be saved...John 12:47 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.Romans 4:5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in the one who declares the ungodly righteous ...

Where did you get the meanings of these names from? Is there a site that you go on to get all these meanings. I found one and printed it off and i try to do what you are doing but i cannot seem to manage it. Maybe its' bad translations. I read a passage from the old testament and write down all the names of places and proper names but at the end it just looks like gobbledy gook and i am left feeling so frustrated with it. Consequently i don't read my bible very much!So i would appreciate some help!GodblessNancy

1 Timothy 2:3-4 ...God our Savior; Who will have all men to be saved...John 12:47 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.Romans 4:5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in the one who declares the ungodly righteous ...